


The Perfect Day

by seekrest



Series: It's Quiet Uptown [2]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker needs to just relax, Precious Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-26 22:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18725980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest
Summary: “You know, I really expected this day to go a lot differently.” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, Karen unusually quiet.Peter wondered why he was disappointed. He should be thankful that there was nothing immediate, nothing pressing – nothing out of the ordinary.It was just a normal day. A normal Sunday.Just another day.





	The Perfect Day

“You know, I really expected this day to go a lot differently.” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, Karen unusually quiet.

When Peter woke up, he encountered the usual – May hassling him about his fruit intake, a million messages from Ned about some new Star Wars promo, a message from Mr. Stark about their plans later.

And nothing else. Just a normal Sunday.

Well, as normal as could be expected when you dress up in Fourth of July spandex as a side job.

Peter couldn’t name what he expected, could sense that’s why Karen hadn’t responded.

Sundays were such a wild card in the city – tourists getting into things they had no business in, crime lords deciding that a quiet afternoon was the perfect time to stage a heist.

He woke up bracing himself, expecting some massive fire that he had to put out – some kind of danger or problem that he inevitably got sucked into.

But it hadn’t. There was nothing else. Just a normal Sunday.

Just another day.

As his legs dangled over the edge of the building, Peter looked up and sighed.

There was a lot he had to be thankful for, a lot he still wished for.

But if he got pooped on by another pigeon, he was going to lose his damn mind.

“Come on guys, can you give me a break? Just for one day?” He leaned away from where the pigeons were flying, just barely missing as the pigeons’ lunch was left behind.

“You know, this is why people call you rats with wings!” Peter yelled out, the pigeons already long gone. He jumped back from the roof’s edge only to see a rat. Peter froze. So did the rat, almost staring back at him.

“Sorry buddy.” The rat scurried away, and Peter rolled his eyes. _Why am I like this?_

“Hey Karen?” He walked across the roof, fiddling with his webshooters. Karen could easily tell him when he was running low, a feature Mr. Stark had pointed out more than once, but Peter still insisted on checking it himself.

Partly force of habit. Mostly because on days like today – normal days, just the usual – it gave him something to focus on.

 “You got anything good for me?”

“There appears to be a reported robbery two blocks down, but police have already arrived and apprehended the subject.”

Peter snaps the webshooter back in place, his check to replace it unnecessary. _Figures_.

“Karen, I asked for something _good_ – you know? Something I can actually help with?”

He waits while Karen thinks, well – not _thinks_ – but scans the area. He taps his fingers lightly against his suit, glancing around. Karen didn’t need the motion to see, but Peter was feeling antsy.

He couldn’t explain the feeling, the sense of low-grade dread in the back of his mind. He walked over the side of the building and looked down.

A quiet alley, people rushing off to whatever destination they had to get to. As Karen calculated, Peter tapped his fingers against his thigh.

There was nothing amiss. Nothing wrong.

And yet.

He’d been waking up the past few days with something edging in the back of his mind. He’d originally attributed it to his chem exam, some kind of test anxiety, but when that came and went – the feeling was still there.

Quiet. Unassuming. Nothing he could really name or place.

Ned may have thought his “Spider-Sense” – as he called – cool, but Peter was mostly annoyed.

“There does not appear to be anyone in need of your assistance, Peter.” Karen chimed in.

“Of course there isn’t.” He muttered as he flicked his hand out, swinging away.

His senses were useful, warned him of what he needed sure, but sometimes vague as hell.

As the city breezed past him, Peter wondered why he was disappointed. He should be thankful that there was nothing immediate, nothing pressing – nothing out of the ordinary.

It was just a normal day. A normal Sunday.

Just another day.

* * *

He had spoken too soon.

“Karen can you – hey watch it, kid – can you tell me the fastest way out this mess?” He was flailing, his webs landing but clearly not quick enough.

“If you take the next left, you should be out of the parade’s planned trajectory.”

He swung in the direction Karen said, only to be greeted by a blast of confetti.

“What the – shit!” Peter fumbled with the next swing, just barely catching himself as he tried to wipe the sparkles off his face.

“What the hell was that Karen?” He huffed, swinging further.

“Multi-colored confetti with glitter. It appears to be available at most local grocery stores. Would you like for me to order some for you, Peter?”

“You can—what? No Karen just… dammit.” Some of the confetti had gathered right in the middle of his masks’ eyes – the unlucky combination of sweat and city grime making it stick.

He landed on another roof, a few blocks now from the errant parade. It was some celebration for some borough, something Peter would’ve gladly joined any other day. But the nagging feeling in the back of his head caused him to move away, a pull elsewhere.

“Karen do you have any kind of way to get this shit off?” The more Peter wiped at his eye piece, the more stubbornly the glitter and confetti seemed to stick.

“I’m afraid that I am unable to do so with the mask on Peter. Might I suggest plotting a course to the Tower?”

_Perfect. Just… perfect._

“Yeah Karen, just – I know the way.”

* * *

It wasn’t that Peter didn’t want to bother Mr. Stark. He had plans with him later, some kind of invention in the lab that he had wanted Peter to check out.

It was the most basic of excuses, one that Peter was aware of but let it slide anyway. After Liz’s dad, after the rhino jerk – Mr. Stark had taken to spending more time with Peter. At first it was under the guise of suit adjustments, of a need for more training.

But over time it evolved into just a casual thing – a weekly occurrence where Peter and Mr. Stark would waste hours in the lab, finagling over some invention or other.

They didn’t need an excuse to hang out now – at least in Peter’s mind they didn’t – but he didn’t have the heart to bring it up with Mr. Stark.

But he still hated needing his help – some kind of base level need to prove himself, even if he knew it was misplaced.

As Peter landed on the balcony and could hear FRIDAY alerting Mr. Stark of his presence, Peter wondered if that feeling would ever go away.

* * *

“Should I ask why your multi-million-dollar suit looks like it caught the tailwind of a unicorn’s ass or..?” Tony grabbed some kind of tool from the bench and got to work on Peter’s suit. Peter walked over to the other side of the bench, grabbing a StarkPad as he sat down.

“You know what Mr. Stark, it’s been a long day and I would really prefer if you keep your sarcasm to yourself.”

Tony turned to face him, his mouth opened in faux shock.

“You hear the mouth on this kid, Fri? Here I am – selflessly scraping off whatever Pride parade leftovers this kid has stuck on his mask on a Sunday afternoon, and he has the NERVE to—”

“It’s not like you were busy anyway, Mr. Stark.” Peter smirks as Tony glances over his lab glasses.

“I’m choosing to ignore your sass, young buck. Remember that I’m the one who pays you for all of this.”

“You _don’t_ pay me, Mr. Stark.”

Tony waves his hands. “Details – FRIDAY, you mind starting the music back up again? I need to focus so I don’t strangle my intern.”

“You got it, boss.” AC/DC starts blasting through the overhead speakers.

Peter watches as Tony works, until Tony glances up. The smirk smile starts to fade, noticing some kind of look on Peter’s face.

“You alright, kid?”

Peter shrugs. “Yeah, just been a long day.”

Tony’s attention goes back to the suit. “You wanna tell me about it?”

“There’s not really anything to tell, Mr. Stark. I got caught up in some kind of parade but… I don’t know. Nothing happened today really, just… felt long you know?”

Peter hadn’t noticed that Tony had put the tool down, was staring right at him with a look of mild concern.

“You know you could tell me if anything was up? I wouldn’t tell anyone. Not even that mildly terrifying aunt of yours.” Peter laughed.

“Yeah, I know Mr. Stark I promise – nothing’s, nothing’s wrong.” The nudge in the back of his head rears up again but Peter ignores it.

“Just a normal day.”

* * *

Tony ends up scraping the remainder of the glitter five minutes later, but it’s another hour or so before Peter actually leaves.

As they always do, the two get distracted by some new piece of tech. They work seamlessly together, sometimes in silence – but mostly just idle chatter.

It’s nice, Peter thinks.

While the feeling in the back of head, his neck, just barely nudges him towards something, Peter gets genuinely lost in the moment with Mr. Stark.

It’s a good feeling, knowing that his presence is appreciated. Feeling like he can actually contribute to something of Tony’s inventions.

As he walks out towards the balcony, he hesitates before giving Mr. Stark a quick hug. To Peter’s continual surprise, he returns it.

“You be good, kid. Don’t get into too much trouble between here and Queens alright?”

“You got it, Mr. Stark.” Peter says, walking backward as he brings his mask back over his head. “Thanks again for helping me, and for letting me help out again today.”

Tony leans against the doorway and waves Peter off.

“I feel like you’re the one who’s helping me, kid. Remind me to give you a raise.”

“You _still_ don’t pay me, Mr. Stark.”

“You’re a little shit, you know that Parker?” Peter laughs.

“See you, Mr. Stark.”

As he flicks his hand out, he looks back to Mr. Stark – grinning and shaking his head – before letting the momentum carry him away.

Tony hadn’t always been so welcoming. Hadn’t always been so eager to give Peter a hug, attention – a notice of affection.

But the past few months had been different. Peter didn’t know what caused it, but he didn’t care. He was used to it now. It was normal.

It was just a normal day. A normal Sunday.

Just another day.

* * *

**guy in the chair:** dude!!!!!!!!!!  
**guy in the chair:** PETER!!!!!! ANSWER ME!!!!!!!!!!  
**guy in the chair:** THIS IS AN EMERGENCY PETER

 **ironman stan** : what!? Are you okay??  
**ironman stan:** wait did you change my name in the chat again?  
**ironman stan:** what’s going on??  
**ironman stan:** Ned answer me  
**ironman stan** : I’m calling you. answer the phone.  
**ironman stan:** Ned pick up the phone  
**ironman stan:** NED ANSWER THE PHONE

 **guy in the chair:** DID YOU SEE THE NEW FOOTAGE!!!!!! REY IS TOTALLY LUKE’S DAUGHTER!!!!!

* * *

“What the fuck Ned?” Peter, out of breath, landing again on some roof right outside of Queens. Ned’s had missed his last three calls, finally picked up on the fourth.

He just read Ned’s latest text message and could barely contain himself.

“PETER! THE FOOTAGE IS INCREDIBLE! Apparently someone leaked some set footage and they’re like, definitely in a shit-ton of trouble but I don’t even care if they lost their job or what because there’s a scene with Rey and Luke—and like it could definitely be some kind of flashback, but what if it’s really them? I mean it could be—”

“Are you fucking serious right now Ned? I thought you were DYING.” Peter ripped his mask off, too furious to care whether or not anyone was looking.

To Ned’s credit, the other line was silent.

“Dude, I’m sorry I didn’t think—”

“You’re fucking right you didn’t think? Don’t DO that to me, man. You tell me that something’s wrong, that there’s an emergency and all I could think was…” Peter put a hand to his face, his mask blocking his vision.

He had to calm down. Peter could hear Ned’s breathing on the other line, could tell he was blowing up over something relatively minor.

Ned – for all his bluster, his energetic and sometimes misplaced excitement – was still his best friend. Still on his side. Still on the other line.

“I’m sorry Peter.” Peter sighed, wincing at how small the voice on the other line was.

“No dude I’m—I’m sorry for that, I just… you know how I get these feelings sometime?”

“Your spider-sense?”

“It—yeah, I guess. I don’t know. I thought something bad was happening. That something bad happened to you, and I just can’t—I just thought—”

“I get it man, I get it.” Ned’s voice was quiet, but firm. Peter knew he didn’t have to elaborate further.

They’d been friends for almost ten years. Peter was sure Ned knew him better than he knew himself.

Peter took a deep breath and exhaled.

Ned knew his job was scary, knew that Peter was scared – terrified – of losing anyone else that he loved. He didn’t have to explain further, didn’t have to qualify his concern.

Ned understood. He was just excited – wanting to share something normal with his friend. Something exciting for them, sure – but normal.

“So?”

“So…?” He could hear Ned’s hesitancy over the phone.

Peter slipped his mask back on, transferred the call to the mask and flicked his wrist out – with less urgency this time.

“Tell me everything.”

It was all Ned needed to jump right back into his excitement, right back into the normal kind of excitement and energy over something a teenaged boy should be focused on.

It was normal.

A normal day. Just a normal Sunday.

Just another day.

* * *

He should’ve figured dinner would be a disaster. They always were.

May insisted on cooking some kind of Pinterest recipe on Sunday nights.

Peter would tell her it was fine.

May would continue.

And they’d eventually order out for Thai anyway.

As he waited for the delivery guy to get there, he watched as May flitted about the kitchen – trying and failing to scrape the last dredges of whatever she had put into the pan into the trash.

“Let me help. You know I have super strength, right May?”

“Peter if that’s supposed to make me feel better, it did the exact opposite.” She gave him a look and he put his hands up.

“Sorry! Sorry, just – wanted to help.” May shook her head.

“You keep your butt on that couch. I don’t want the Thai guy to catch me taking food out to the trash… again.”

Peter smirked. “What, you think he won’t _larb_ you anymore?”

May launched an oven mitt in his direction. Peter dodged and laughed, hearing the distinctive steps of the Thai guy coming up the hallway.

He launched himself off the couch and opened the door, right as their Thai guy – Jerry – was about to knock.

“Perfect timing as always, Parker.”

“Thanks Jerry, appreciate it.” Jerry leaned forward, catching May as she tried to shuffle away from eyesight.

“Have a good night May!”

“You too Jerry!” Peter tried to hold back a snicker, May clearly trying to hide away from the door. He caught Jerry’s eye who winked knowingly.

May’s pride may have prevented her from admitting that her cooking was abysmal at best, but Peter and Jerry had the decency not to laugh at her expense.

Peter and Jerry exchanged money and food, before Peter closed the door and headed to dining room table.

“He’s gone now May, you can come out now.”

“You do remember I have the power to ground you, right kid?”

Peter laughed as he took the takeout out of its bag. “Yeah but then, you’d be stuck with me all the time.”

“Oh you’re right. Having you around all the time? The horror. What was I thinking?” She ruffled his hair and sat down, taking a carton out of his hands.

“Hey!” Peter sat down across from her, before saying, “You know – I think Jerry wants to ask you out.”

“Is mind reading one of your powers now Pete?”

“No, I just—”

“Have you talked to MJ lately?”

“What? No, I mean yeah—we talked about our physics project but—”

“You should tell that girl how you feel, Pete. Girls like her don’t come around all that often.”

Peter’s ears burned furiously. “May!”

She pointed a chopstick towards him. “See how it feels? Keep your nose in your own pad thai and I’ll keep my nose in my mind.”

Peter threw May a confused look.

“You know what I’m saying, kiddo. I’m fine. I promise.” She flicked a noodle in his direction and Peter laughed, dodging just in time.

May would probably never become a great cook. Peter was sure of it. And while he wasn’t sure how he was going to approach MJ – if MJ even liked him back – he was glad to have such a normal problem to think of.

Peter smiled at May and took a bite out of his chicken.

It was a normal day. Just a normal Sunday.

Just another day.

* * *

Peter was quiet as he walked into the living room. May had long fallen asleep watching some rerun of the Golden Girls, didn’t notice as Peter gently laid a blanket over here.

He softly walked back to his room, and quietly let himself out of the fire escape. He had already told May goodnight, had promised he wasn’t going to sneak out and patrol.

And he wasn’t. He just wanted to look out, see the stars.

He sat on the fire escape, letting his legs dangle from the edge – bracing himself as he let his arms rest on the railing.

The quiet sense of dread was still there, just a little nudge at the back of his head.

But by all accounts – nothing had happened.

No robberies. No deaths. No danger.

Patrolled the city. Hung out with Mr. Stark.

Chatted with Ned. Normal night with May.

It had been a perfectly normal day. Just a normal Sunday.

Just another day.

Peter closed his eyes, focused on the sights and sounds of the city.

He could hear the soft cries of Mr. Johnson’s baby on the first floor, a cat scratching a post in the building next to his. He could hear the traffic, some guy arguing with another about whose taxi was whose.

Ned had asked him how far his hearing could go and honestly, Peter wasn’t sure. Hadn’t really ever pushed it. Wasn’t interested in pushing it today either.

He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting back to where he was – grounding himself before he looked back up at the stars.

Peter didn’t know the full extent of his powers, wasn’t really interested in getting to that point. Hadn’t ever needed to.

Didn’t want to.

As the city sounds filled the air, the smog and the sweat, Peter rested his hand on his forearms and just gazed at the stars.

There was a lot that Peter didn’t know, a lot he couldn’t explain – about his powers, about himself. The world, the universe was beyond him sometimes. And the feeling in the back of his mind, this idea that there was something _just_ beyond his grasp, reminded him of all that there was for him yet to learn.

But as he looked up at the stars, Peter took a deep breath and relaxed.

He couldn’t always stop the bad things from happening. Couldn’t always prevent the terrible things that Parker luck seemed to bring.

But if he could have more days like today – days that were normal, where nothing happened – where the people he loved were safe, and whole – then he could handle the bad things, the bad days.

Peter watched as the stars twinkled and smiled.

It had been a normal day. A normal Sunday.

And for Peter, that had made it the perfect day.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Finish the "It's Quiet Uptown" series and make people cry.  
> Also me: But what if - instead - I don't do that?
> 
> Had a thought the other day about Peter - I mean really though, when am I NOT thinking about Peter Parker - and this whole thing just came out. Technically, this fits into the "It's Quiet Uptown" series -- I would imagine this a day in the life of Peter right at the very beginning of his bad feeling, months and months before the worst day. 
> 
> But it doesn't have to be - I mean, Parker luck is just a feature™ of Peter's life so his sense of foreboding can be read several ways I guess. 
> 
> Either way, this was born out of the idea that sometimes our best days - the perfect days - aren't always when the big things happen. Sometimes, they're just normal days. 
> 
> And honestly, that's what makes them absolutely perfect.
> 
> Come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://seek-rest.tumblr.com).


End file.
